Monday, August 29, 2011

Touch is one of those new male kpop groups that have tons of potential, but still have some fine tuning. I was really excited they were coming up with something new. "Too Hot 2 Handle" has a great dance vibe that displays an impressive rap flow. It really gets you in the mood for this brand new single. "Luv" lightens things up a little bit, but still maintains that club vibe. It's simple, catchy tune that's easy to move to and fits in with this dance/club sound trend, but still keeps their cute/innocent charm. "Rockin' the Club" was their promo song of choice. The music video is a little weak, but the song gradually grew on me. The stuttering parts are a little annoying and unnecessary, but the chorus is easily ingrained in my head. "Today" is a nice, lighthearted generic kpop tune that you can easily picture cutesy gestures and facials like Teen Top, SHINee, or something that instantly annoys me. The remaining two tracks are instrumentals of "Luv" and "Rockin' the Club". The boys still have some growing to do, but I still enjoy listening to them.

As much as I love SuG, I've been having some issues with their current stuff for some reason. It's all the same happy/random formula that's getting tiring like the GazettE's stuff. "Crazy Bunny Coaster" is an upbeat tune with Takeru's usual unique inflections in his vocals, fun keyboarding effects, and random sprinkles of sound effects. "NO OUT NO LIFE" follows along those fun little rock tunes and has a simple lyrical flow that's good for the kiddos. "ID fudge factor" taps more into that rocker sound while still keeping that fun lovin' SuG element. I want more of that!

For those who didn't know, Loki, ex-vocalist of Sugar, started a solo project König. If you didn't know, I'm not much of a fan of Sugar's, but their music was alright and they're rather entertaining live. This is his first single and it opens with the beautiful "Camellia" which is mostly an instrumental track featuring gorgeously arranged piano and electric guitar. "deep" brings in that deep vocals that Loki owns and a dramatic yet lasting musical arrangement that reflects elements from Sugar. "蜜溶ける部屋" gradually builds up starting with an a Capella intro then a strong bass guitar which leads to a hypnotizing melody and a powerful chorus. "insomnia" closes out this masterpiece of a single by picking up the pace a little, but still keeping some sort of emphasize on a guitar and Loki's vocal style.

"Hikari to Yami ga Kosasauru Yoru ni" opens with an immediate guitar melody that easily pulls you in, then changes up suddenly before softening to bring in the vocals. It's a slightly odd sound to the ears and changes every now and then. It has potential, but becomes a bit generic around the chorus. "andante" has a familiar sound to it and once again captures you with the great musical presentation. It softens again to bring in the vocals, but this time it comes at a whisper and the small change up doesn't lose you as much. "WALTZ" starts off with guitar distortions and an aggressive vocal that makes you want to move to it with ease. The chorus flows well and is forgivable generic sounding since the melody is pretty cool.

One of those anticipating singles of the year by the flawless deathgaze. "SILENCE" brings their signature aggressiveness, double pedal drums, and ear grating guitars with an intense fast pace like "BLOOD". "THE END" maintains the intensity, aggression, and speed with Ai's haunting voice and screams to keep things going and consistent. The single is simply too short, but amazing enough to keep fans interested in an upcoming release.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Discovered by the hot club duo The Cataracs through an Amy Winehouse cover, Dev was brought into the spotlight when the Far East Movement sampled from her song "Booty Bounce". From there she released her first single, "Bass Down Low", which is another great dance track and features The Cataracs as well. According to last.fm, audiences have compared her to Ke$ha, but I call that blasphemy as their style is very different from each other. She has recently done a few collaborations with other artists on her label and contributed to the latest Catarac song, "Top of the World".

With a sexy, alluring singing voice and fierce lyrical skills, Dev joins the ranks with colleagues The Cataracs and Far East Movement with an electro-hop sound. She has a memorable sound and an original flow to her voice and a delivery which blows Ke$ha away with minimal effort. Her latest music video, "In The Dark", keeps true to the feel good, sexy club sound that is trending. It features a slightly different side to Dev by combining her electro-hop with a little retro Latin horns. Not only is the video hot, but it keeps the anticipation high for her upcoming album, The Night the Sun Came Up, which will be released on September 20.